Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable radiographic imaging system, especially to a portable radiographic imaging system which performs radiographic imaging using an FPD cassette, etc.
Description of Related Art
In the field of radiographic imaging, an imaging method has changed from an analog system to a digital system with the transition from a conventional silver salt photography method using a screen/film to a method using a computed radiography (CR) cassette, a photostimulable phosphor sheet, etc. Recently, various kinds of Flat Panel Detectors (hereinafter referred to as “FPDs”; also called as “radiographic image capturing apparatuses” or the like) has been developed, in which conversion elements are two-dimensionally arranged, each of the elements generating electrical signals depending on radiation that has been emitted from a radiation source and has passed through an object. Such FPDs have come into use in medical image photographing in a medical front such as a hospital.
In recent years, a portable FPD (hereinafter referred to as “FDP cassette”) which houses in a casing a sensor panel including the above-mentioned conversion elements formed thereon so that it becomes portable has been developed and put to practical use (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H06-342099). There has also been developed a radiographic imaging system in which signals, data, etc. are transmitted/received in wireless communication among an FPD cassette, a radiation generator that emits radiation to the FPD cassette, and a console that generates radiographic images based on image data taken by the FPD cassette (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-111198).
When performing wireless communication among the console, the FPD cassette, etc., if the radiation generator emits radiation to the FPD cassette through an object in the state that wireless communication connection has not been established, there is a possibility that radiation generator emits radiation to the FPD cassette which has not completed preprocessing for imaging yet.
In this regard, for example, WO2006/101233 discloses the configuration where the radiation generator does not emit radiation when the wireless communication connection has not been established between the console and the FPD cassette.
Meanwhile, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-111198 discloses that, in the case of configuration where signals, data, etc. are transmitted/received in wireless communication among the FPD cassette, the radiation generator, and the console (and further a key unit in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-111198), wireless communication is performed between the FPD cassette and the radiation generator, between the FPD cassette and the console, and between the radiation generator and the console (and further between the key unit and each of the devices in the case of providing the key unit).
In such case, however, when replacing the console of the system with another console, and/or when incorporating new additional FPD cassette into the system, setting or the like is necessary to establish new wireless communication between the new device, which has been replaced or incorporated into the system, and each of the other devices of the system.
Concretely, it is necessary for the new device, which has been replaced or incorporated into the system, to set identification information (for example, SSID in the case of wireless communication by wireless Local Area Network (LAN)) etc. of all other devices of the system in order to execute wireless communication with the other devices. At the same time, it is also necessary for each of the other devices of the system to set identification information etc. of the new device, which has been replaced or incorporated into the system, to wirelessly communicate with the new device.
The processing to enable wireless communication among the devices of the system, when replacing the device of the system or incorporating the new device into the system, is complicated and troublesome for a radiologist or the like, which has been a problem.
In the meantime, by making the above-mentioned FPD cassette, the radiation generator, the console, etc. portable, the whole radiographic imaging system can be made portable. When making the radiographic imaging system portable, for example, a patient who cannot come to facilities such as a hospital equipped with imaging facility can bring the portable radiographic imaging system into his/her home so as to perform radiographic imaging at his/her home.
Moreover, it also becomes possible to bring the portable radiographic imaging system into an imaging location to perform radiographic imaging in the case that a farm animal such as a cow and/or an animal such as a racehorse breaks a bone, and/or in the case of performing radiographic imaging of teeth of a dead body for identification in time of disaster. Thus, by making the radiographic imaging system portable, the system can be brought into not only facilities such as a hospital, but also various locations, so that radiographic imaging is performed there.
When bringing the portable system into the imaging location, for example, there may be a situation where communication environment is deteriorated due to wireless communication established among various apparatuses/devices other than the portable system in the imaging location, and accordingly wireless communication connection among the console, the FPD cassette, the radiation generator, etc. of the portable system is disconnected, namely, wireless communication connection is not established in the portable system.
Moreover, when a plurality of portable radiographic imaging systems are brought into an imaging location for a body identification or the like, there may be a situation where radio waves used in wireless communication of the plural systems fly about in one (1) imaging location, which is so-called busy state of communication. In such a state, there may be a case that it takes time for each device to perform processing to judge whether or not received signals, data, etc. are those that are to be transmitted to the device itself, in order to avoid confusion, and thereby it takes extra time for the device to perform communication. There also may be a case that it takes quite a long time to confirm absence/presence of wireless communication that has wrongly entered due to confusion, the processing time exceeds the upper limit time predetermined for original routine processing and time out error processing is performed, and accordingly wireless communication connection among the devices of the same system is temporarily disconnected.
In such a state, as described in above-mentioned WO2006/101233, if the radiation generator is controlled so as not to emit radiation to the FPD cassette when wireless communication connection has not been established among the devices of the system, even when the FPD cassette has completed preprocessing for imaging and in the state capable of being irradiated with radiation, the radiation generator does not emit radiation if wireless communication connection is disconnected.
In the above case, radiographic imaging is not performed in the result though both of the FPD cassette and the radiation generator are ready for radiographic imaging, and thereby a good opportunity for imaging is missed. Moreover, the FPD cassette is required to execute preprocessing for imaging again, and power of a built-in battery is wastefully consumed.
However, if the radiation generator emits radiation to the FPD cassette, even when wireless communication connection among the devices of the system is disconnected, in order to prevent the above situation from occurring, there may be a situation where the radiation generator emits radiation to the FPD cassette which has not completed the preprocessing for imaging.
Therefore, imaging becomes necessary again, and radiation irradiation is wasted in the result. Accordingly, power of the built-in battery of the FPD cassette is wastefully consumed.